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He loves his country so much that he is ready to whisper the Italian national anthem at Bari on Wednesday despite the fact he is now assistant coach to Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni.

At least he is honest, but it’s doubtful the thousands of green-clad Ireland fans making the trip to Italy’s heel for the World Cup qualifier will appreciate his words. It will be April’s Fools day after all.

Current England boss Fabio Capello would certainly keep his mouth shut if Italy ever visit Wembley while Trapattoni may well cringe when he hears the Italian anthem given he has such bad memories from his spell in charge of the Azzurri.

The debate over the nationality of international coaches had seemed to have disappeared before Tardelli’s comments.

But if he dances down the touchline flaying his arms about when Robbie Keane scores the winner on Wednesday, the Irish fans will surely forgive him.

A football coach’s nationality remains as sensitive an issue as those involving national identity. When Fabio Capello was appointed as the new England coach, a spokesman for the Italian Football Federation was quick to dismiss the idea of having a foreign coach at the helm of the Azzurri in the future. Similarly in France, some commentators were horrified at the prospect of having a non-French national taking charge of the Blues.
In my view, a coach should not be discriminated against on the basis of his nationality if he has the ability to do the job.